Spring-clasp



(No Model.)

B. s. SMITH.

SPRING CLASP. No. 308,546. Patented Aug. 12, 1884.

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EDWVARD S. SMITH, OF WATERBURY, CONNECTICUT.

SPRING-CLASP.

SPECIFICATIOWforming part of Letters Patent No. 303,546, dated August12, 1884:.

Application filed April 25, 1884.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, EDWARD S. SMITH, a citizen of the United States,residing in the city of WVaterbury, county of New Haven, and State ofConnecticut,have invented certain new and useful Improvements inSpring-Clasps, fully described and represented in the followingspecification and the accompanying drawings, forming a part of the same,in which drawings Figurel is a plan view, Fig. 2 a side elevation, andFig. 3 an end elevation, of a springclasp embodying my improvements.Figs. 4. and 5 represent the same by longitudinal seetional elevations,the former representing theclasp closed and the latter the clasp opened;and Fig. 6 shows the clasp partially opened. These improvements relateto that character of clasps which consist of a base-plate to which aspring-seated holding-lever is so pivoted that it may be thrown open toreceive an attaching-plate and closed to retain the same. In this classof devices as heretofore constructed the structure and mounting of theparts have been such as to limit the extent of the opening movement ofthe holding-lever, whereby it was made to stand at about a right anglewith respect to the base-plate when opened to receive theattaching-plate, and therefore was inconveniently positioned for thereception of the attaching-plate, which in practical use is secured toone part of the garment or article to be fastened, while the claspproper is secured to another part of the garment or article; and byreason of this relative position of the attaching plate and clasp it hasbeen difficult to bring such a one of the slots in the attaching-plateover the holding lever as will accomplish a close relation of the twoparts of the garment or article designed to be fastened together whenthe clasp is closed.

The invention consists of an improved construction of the holding-lever,whereby its movement with relation to its spring is given such a rangeas to enable it to be open at a very obtuse angle with respect to thebaseplate of the clasp, which construction is the provision of a slotthrough which said spring may protrude when the holding-lever is swungforward to open the clasp. It also comprehends combinations of variousparts, all of which will be hereinafter particularly pointed 1 out.

(No model.)

The baseplate E is a plate of metal, slightly curved longitudinally, andbifurcated at its forward end to provide side arms, D S, between whichthe holding-lever M may be hung and the spring I accommodated. Thesearms are bent at their forward ends to form hook-like sockets T H. Theholding-lever M has its forward end bent at about right'angles to itsbody, and it is provided on each side with laterally-extending pivots 8,that are embraced by the sockets T H, within which they are confined bythe spring I, which is attached to the base-plate E, and protrudesthrough the recess formed therein between the arms D S, and bears uponthe right-angular.

portion of said holding-lever. The right-angular portion of thisholding-lever Mis centrally perforated with a slot, 9, having dimensionssuited to admit the passage of the spring I when the lever is thrownforward, as in Fig.

5, said spring resting against the extremity 2 of theholding-lever Mwhen thelatter is closed, as in Fig. 2.

In the construction of its principal parts this clasp is like thatdescribed in a companion application filed of even date herewith, towhich reference is made, and therefore no precise description of themode of assembling its parts need here be given. marked, however, thatthe attaching-plate N is provided with a number of parallel slots,through any one of which the lever M may be passed, so as to suit thedevice for various adjustments. It may be further stated that the pivots8 of the lever M are left flat, or in the form which results from asimple blanking out of the device, whereby the pivots are provided withflat front faces, which enable them to be seated snugly against similarfaces which the forward members of the sockets T H provide, as in Fig.2, whereby when the clasp is closed the holding-lever M will haveaseeure and extend ed bearing against the sockets, and thus provide thestrongest form of bearing opposed to the draft of the plate N upon thelever M. Supposing the clasp to be closed, as in Fig. 2, it will beobserved that when its lever M is released by up ward pressure exertedupon its free extremity its angular forward end will readily moverearward, its extremity 2 slide It may be report the pivots in thesockets.

ward, and thus cause its pivots 8 to always bear on the sockets T H.When the lever M has moved so far forward as to enable the spring I tolie snugly in contact with the face of the right-angular bend of saidlever M, the forward extremity of the spring will underlie the opening9' in said lever M. By considering this position a moment, as shown inFig. 6, it will be seen that while the spring still holds the pivots incontact with the sockets it offers no opposition to the further rockingmovement of the lever M, which may therefore be further moved forward,as in Fig. 5, when the spring will protrude through the opening 9 andcontinue to bear upon and sup- These movements permit the extension ofthe lever M so far forward as to bring its free end into such positionthat the attaching-plate N, while secured to the under part of thearticle, can be readily passed over said lever M, and be secured theretoas said lever is returned to its closed position. In this lattermovement its pivots H readily press the spring I downward until theextremity 2 is in contact with the spring,, and thereafter saidextremity eontinues the downward movement of the spring until therelation of the parts shown in Fig. 2 is reached. By this constructionit will be apparent that where the two parts of the clasp are attachedto two separate portions of an article to be secured a tighter bindingor drawing together of the two separate parts of the article may beaccomplished than by. the old deviees,for the reason that thisconstruction enables one to insert the holding-lever into a slot of theattaching-plate at a point sufliciently near to that end by which theattaching-plate is secured to the article to accomplish such result.

What, therefore, is claimed is- 1. In a spring-clasp consisting of aspringseated holding-lever pivoted to abase-platc, the combination, withsaid spring and baseplate, of a holding-lever having a slot or openingwithin which the end of the spring pro-

